I was a Nolan Arenado fan when he was a member of the Colorado Rockies and was thrilled when he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. It’s been difficult watching his performance decline due to injuries and age-related decline. Is it possible that a potential trade to the Los Angeles Angels could revive his career? Some believe it might, but I’m not convinced.
This idea was brought up announcer Mike Ferrin on the MLB Radio on SiriusXM a few days ago. Mike is convinced a move to the Angels might be
good for Nolan Arenado’s career.
While listening to Mike’s analysis is worthwhile if you have the time, I’ll summarize. He believes that Busch Stadium is very much a pitcher’s park. He’s convinced that Angel Stadium is more home run friendly and might help Nolan’s power numbers. Let’s look at the dimensions of Angel Stadium compared to Busch Stadium III.
Busch Stadium:
Left Field Line: 336 feet
Left-Center Field: 375 feet
Center Field: 400 feet
Right-Center Field: 375 feet
Right Field Line: 335 feet
Angel Stadium:
Left Field: 347 ft
Left-Center: 390 ft
Center Field: 396 ft
Right-Center: 370 ft
Right Field: 350 ft
As we know, there’s more to hitting analytics and baseball stadiums than just dimensions. Baseball Savant does rate Angel Stadium as more of a hitter’s park than Busch Stadium III. With 100 being considered the average, Angel Stadium is rated 113 for home runs while Busch Stadium III is rated only 77. The park factors numbers is interesting to me because it factors in temperature, elevation and environment. The overall rating places Angel Stadium as the 8th most hitter-friendly park while Busch Stadium is a distant 19th overall.
It’s no secret that Nolan Arenado has seen a huge decline in his offensive numbers. Some of that has been attributed to the shoulder injury that we now know he played through for much of 2025 until he went on the IL on July 30. There’s also little doubt that age-related decline will play a big role in the rest of Nolan Arenado’s career no matter where he plays. I do believe he might be a bounce-back candidate for 2026 if the shoulder injury really was responsible for many of his offensive woes. No one will expect the Colorado Rockies-era Nolan Arenado will return, though.
The X factor is how a hypothetical move from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Los Angeles Angels would affect Nolan Arenado mentally. I have no doubt being closer to his southern California home would be a big benefit, but my question about the possibilities of this potential trade from the beginning is why he would approve a trade to the Angels who haven’t seen a playoff game since 2014. No one will predict they’ll threaten the Seattle Mariners for the division title, but they have made moves during the offseason to improve their pitching staff by acquiring RHP Grayson Rodriguez, signing Alek Manoah, and Matt Yates and relievers Jordan Romano and Drew Pomeranz. The Angels also traded for infielder Vaughn Grissom from Boston. No one will pick the Angels to even compete within their division, but they’re at least making an attempt to improve. MLB.com did predict that Mike Trout will have a bounce-back season, but the latest 2026 projection I can find predicts a 72-90 season for the Angels.
At the end of the day, the only realistic attraction I can envision for Nolan Arenado being interested in the Los Angels Angels is the guarantee of being their everyday third baseman and playing close to home. At least there are confirmed reports that the Los Angeles Angels are at least interested in Nolan Arenado. We’ll find out soon enough if he’s interested in them and if the St. Louis Cardinals are willing to eat enough of his remaining salary to get a deal done. I would love it if Chaim Bloom can get this deal done for the sake of the St. Louis Cardinals rebuild and would also be very happy if it happens to kickstart Nolan Arenado’s likely Hall of Fame career.
